City vehicles & equipment

Tandem-axle dump truck, also pressed into service as a plow truck. Bought used around 2009 and not originally set up to plow. A separate frame mounts under the front and rests on the front axle so a plow can attach (not an ideal setup).

The city’s newest and primary plow truck, a 2023 Mack Granite tandem-axle dump with a Towmaster box, front plow, and Force America Patrol Commander plow/sander controls. Plows and sands roads in winter and hauls the rest of the year.

One-ton dump and plow truck for public works, the 2017 Ford F-550 with a Towmaster dump box, used for hauling and for plowing and sanding.

Truck-mounted 3-yard sand/salt spreader (street sander). It sets down into a dump-truck box and feeds the rear spinner by auger, so any of the plow trucks can sand roads in winter.

Wheel loader for public works. It loads sand, gravel, and snow, fills the dump trucks, and pushes/stacks snow.

Motor grader used to maintain and crown the city’s gravel roads, and as a backup plow in winter. It tows the Handy Hitch rubber-tire roller to pack the gravel after grading.

Compact track loader for public works, used for small loading, grading, and snow work; it runs the snow-blower attachments listed in the records.

Utility work machine (Bobcat Toolcat UW56, 4x4). It carries crew and tools in the cargo bed and runs front-mount attachments like a bucket. In winter it also resurfaces the city ice rink: public works sets a water tank on it with a carpet dragged behind to smooth the water as it is laid down, like a Zamboni.

Ride-on sweeper for shop and building floors.

John Deere 6430 utility tractor. It runs a boom/wing flail mower to cut the roadside ditches and rights-of-way, plus general tractor work.

Toro front-deck wide-area rotary mower, used to mow city grounds, parks, and rights-of-way.

Exmark Lazer Z zero-turn riding mower, used to mow city grounds, parks, and rights-of-way.

Public-works crew pickup, a 2023 Chevy Silverado 3500 with a flatbed/dump insert, used for light hauling and for plowing and sanding.

Pull-behind trailer used to haul gravel/aggregate for the city’s roads.

The department’s structure-fire engine: a 2013 Rosenbauer pumper with a Waterous 1250 GPM pump and a 1,000-gallon water tank. Nowthen has no hydrant system, so the water an engine and the tankers carry is the water supply.

Front-line tanker/tender: hauls the water to the fire in a city with no hydrants. 1,970-gallon tank and a 1250 GPM pump per the contract spec, confirmed on the certification plate at the station (1,259 GPM at 150 PSI), plus a SmartFOAM system.

Second tanker, used only to haul water: a 1,900-gallon tank shuttling between the fill site and the fire. Its 1990 Waterous pump is for loading and unloading water, not fire attack.

Light rescue for medicals and crashes, the calls that make up most of the department’s runs. Its replacement, the F-750 rescue pumper (500-gallon tank, 1250 GPM pump), is on order and Rescue 1 serves until it arrives.

Brush truck for grass and wildland fires: a pickup with a skid pump and hose reel that can chase a moving grass fire where the big trucks can’t go.

Water and ice rescue boat (Defender 380 inflatable, rated 6 persons / 990 lbs, 25 HP max).

The chief’s command vehicle, the department’s only one. Bought used as a civilian-package Explorer; the department says it would normally buy a public-safety package, which carries a heavier-duty suspension and motor.